Book Review:  Her Last Words: A gripping and utterly addictive crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 9)

Full disclosure – I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book by the author or their representative but have voluntarily provided a review. All opinions are my own.

Detective Steele is back in another page turner

After finally getting a much-needed vacation with Logan and Zoe, Amanda Steele feels refreshed and almost ready to return to her duties as a detective with the Prince William County PD. Freshly landed from sun-soaked Florida, she notices a missed call from a local author. Thinking nothing of it she decides to call Felicity in a few days when she is officially back from her break.  But when Felicity Kelly is discovered murdered the next day, Amanda knows she cannot sit idly by while a colleague takes the case. As her and her partner Trent Stenson arrive at the scene they notice a meticulously set tableau that bears striking similarities to the author’s current blockbuster thriller novel The Romeo Killer. The more the pair dig into the author’s death, the more they cannot rule out anyone including a playboy ex-boyfriend, borderline obsessive “super fan” or a completely unrelated perp. But something does not sit right with Amanda and when she delves into Kelly’s current work in progress she wonders if the author’s penchant for taking cold cases and adding “what if” scenarios didn’t contribute to her demise. Could the author have gotten too close to the real killer in her latest novel? When another body is discovered Amanda wonders if her and Trent are off the mark or if this is a clever play by the killer to throw them off their trail. The case finally receives a break when the pair stumble on an unlikely lead, but will it be too late to catch a killer and bring justice to their victim?

Her Last Words is the latest in the Detective Amanda Steele series of books by author Carolyn Arnold. Prince William County Virginia is apparently a very small place, and if it wasn’t apparent before, it is even more so with this installment. As the victim is none other than the sister of the deceased in an earlier case Amanda feels personally invested in finding the killer so she can bring some closure to this already grieving family. Felicity Kelly’s penchant for taking cold cases and giving them a new spin may have been her undoing as the case she chose seems to have landed too close to her career in the publishing world. Amanda and Trent much separate what is actual lead from the efforts of the murderer to throw the cops off the case. With their thorough efforts to interview all involved parties the possibility that they have already spoken to their killer does not sit well with the duo.  

In Her Last Words Carolyn Arnold has crafted a fast-paced page turner that will have the reader playing armchair detective along with the deceased. Being a homicide detective is not an easy job even when there isn’t a case and Arnold’s portrayal of Logan and Zoe’s flexibility with her unpredictable schedule is as endearing as it is heartbreaking. Amanda’s large family also continues to provide an unwavering web of support for the small budding family including the sage advice and support of her father the retired PWCPD chief of police. The dynamic with Amanda and her partner continues to be a particularly interesting aspect, and while it seems that they have moved on from their ill-advised kiss a few years back it still continues to be an elephant in the room even if it is fading. It will be interesting to see where or if Arnold takes this in upcoming cases. While Her Last Words is part of a series, Arnold has structured this and pretty much all her series novels as offerings that can be read stand alone or in chronological order.

If you like a strong, fearless female lead, likeable characters and murder cases that will have you guessing until the very end Her Last Words will be a nice addition to any TBR.